The pharyngeal plexus: an anatomical review for better understanding postoperative dysphagia

The pharyngeal plexus is an essential anatomical structure, but the contributions from the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves and the superior cervical ganglion that give rise to the pharyngeal plexus are not fully understood. The pharyngeal plexus is likely to be encountered during various anterior cervical surgical procedures of the neck such as anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Therefore, a detailed understanding of its anatomy is essential for the surgeon who operates in and around this region. Although the pharyngeal plexus is an anatomical structure that is widely mentioned in literature and anatomy books, detailed descriptions of its structural nuances are scarce; therefore, we provide a comprehensive review that encompasses all the available data from this critical structure. We conducted a narrative review of the current literature using databases like PubMed, Embase, Ovid, and Cochrane. Information was gathered regarding the pharyngeal plexus to improve our understanding of its anatomy to elucidate its involvement in postoperative spine surgery complications such as dysphagia. The neural contributions of the cranial nerves IX, X, and superior sympathetic ganglion intertwine to form the pharyngeal plexus that can be injured during ACDF procedures. Factors like surgical retraction time, postoperative hematoma, surgical hardware materials, and profiles and smoking are related to postoperative dysphagia onset. Thorough anatomical knowledge and lateral approaches to ACDF are the best preventing measures.